Flameproof fabrics based on melamine resin fibres

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to flameproof fabrics based on melarnine resin fibres, fireproof blankets and clothing made therewith and their use for extinguishing fires and protecting people and objects from fire, combustion products and/or extinguishing agents.

The present invention relates to flame-proof fabrics based on melamineresin fibers, fire-safety blankets and clothing manufactured therefromand their use for extinguishing fires and protecting persons and objectsfrom fire, combustion products and/or extinguishants.

Conventional fire-safety blankets, or just “fire blankets”, aregenerally used for fighting minor fires by extinguishing the flamesthrough suffocation.

Known fire-safety blankets and fire-safety clothing frequently consistof glass fiber fabrics. These fire-safety blankets have the disadvantageof being very brittle and of melting easily. More particularly, there isconsequently a danger that fire-safety blankets made of this materialwill burn through in the event of a fire. Furthermore, fire-safetyblankets based on aramid fibers are known, but such blankets are stillvery costly. Furthermore, the fire-retarding effect of aramid-basedfabrics is still unsatisfactory. In addition, fire-safety clothing inthese fabrics has only moderate wear comfort.

However, there is also a need for fire-safety blankets which are notprimarily used as fire-extinguishing blankets, but which should besuitable in particular for protecting persons or objects from fire,heat, combustion products, such as soot, or extinguishants.

Such safety blankets would be particularly useful for example inchurches and museums, which frequently house a multiplicity ofirreplaceable works of art which are only badly protected against fireand, in the event of a fire, against the direct consequences of a fire,such as heat and soot, and also against the consequences ofextinguishing measures.

Prior art fire-safety blankets are unsuitable for this specific purpose,since they are either too heavy, too stiff or too permeable tomicroparticles or liquids.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a flame-proof fabricfor fire-safety blankets or clothing, which offers effective protectionfrom fire, extinguishants and/or combustion products, i.e. is heat-,water-, soil- and/or oil-resistant.

We have found that this object is achieved by a flame-proof fabriccomprising, based on the total weight of the fabric,

a) from 4.9 to 95% by weight of melamine resin fibers,

b) from 0 to 90.1% by weight of flame-proof fibers selected from thegroup consisting of aramid fibers, carbon fibers, glass fibers,flame-proof wool and flame-proof viscose, and

c) from 0 to 20% by weight of fillers, further comprising

d) from 4.9 to 95% by weight of normal-flammable fibers and/or

e) from 0.1 to 20% by weight of at least one heat-, oil-, soil- and/ormoisture-resistant finish.

The present invention also provides fire-safety blankets and clothingwhich can be manufactured in the flame-proof fabric of the invention.

The invention further provides for the use of such fire-safety blanketsfor protecting objects from fire, heat, combustion products and/orextinguishants and also for the use for extinguishing fires.

Flame-retardant fabrics comprising the abovementioned constituents a),b), c) and d) can be conventionally woven from yarns or produced in theform of nonwovens from the fibers or fiber blends (see Ullmann'sEnzyklopädie der Technischen Chemie, 4th edition, Vol. 23,“Textiltechnik”). Thereafter component e) is applied. It is alsopossible to finish the fibers a), b) and d), or the yarns spuntherefrom, with component e), and then to further process the fibers oryarns to the fabrics of this invention.

In addition, however, the fabrics of this invention may further includefrom about 4.9 to 95% by weight, preferably from about 5 to 50% byweight, , in particular from about 10 to 45% by weight, ofnormal-flammable fabric, for example wool, cotton, polyamide fibers,polyester fibers and viscose. But the amount which is used of thesefibers must not adversely affect the flame retardancy of the fabric.

The addition of normal-flammable fabric offers a number of advantages.If, for example, cotton or other comparable fibers are used as furthercomponent, it becomes possible to produce fabrics having an enhancedwater absorption capacity, whereby it is possible to obtain improvedprotection from moisture, for example from water used in extinguishingthe fire. Further, the addition of normal-flammable fibers can improvethe wear comfort of fabrics. This is of particular advantage whenprotective clothing is to be manufactured from the fabrics. Also, theaddition of normal-flammable fibers leads to a considerable reduction inthe cost of flame-proof fabrics based on melamine resin fibers.

Instead of the normal-flammable fibers or in combination therewith, thefabrics of this invention may include from 0.1 to 20% by weight,preferably from about 0.5 to 10% by weight, of a heat-, oil-, soil-and/or moisture-resistant finish. The fabric can be impregnated orcoated with the finish.

Examples of finishes which are suitable for use in conjunction with thepresent invention are one- or two-sidedly applied coats of metal, forexample aluminum. Such metal coats, which are usually applied in athickness of for example 5-200 μm, preferably 10-100 μm, so that theflexibility of the fabric is not adversely affected, protect from fire,the action of heat, especially radiant heat, soot and extinguishants,for example water and foams or powders. In line with the provisionalEuropean standard pr EN 1486, metallized fabrics are suitable formanufacturing protective suits for heavy duty fire and heat protection.The fabric is generally metallized by vacuum vapor deposition (seeUllmann's Enzyklopädie der Technischen Chemie, 3rd edition, Vol. 15, p.276 and references cited therein). It is also possible to adhere thinmetal foils to the fabric. Such metal foils consist in general of apolymeric support film coated with a thin film of metal. They preferablycomprise a polymeric support based on polyester. The metal foils can beapplied on one or preferably both sides of the fabric of this inventionaccording to TL 8415-0203 (TL=technical supply specification of theGerman defense forces), for example by means of an adhesive or by hotcalendering. Such foils are used for the coating of fabrics by variousmanufacturers (e.g. Gentex Corp., Carbondale PA, USA; C.F.Ploucquet GmbH& Co, D-89522 Heidenheim; Darmstädter GmbH, D-46485 Wesel).

It is also possible to produce the fabrics of this invention frommetallized yarns or fibers. The yarns are preferably coated withaluminum in layer thicknesses within the range from 10-100 μm, while thefibers have metal coatings from 0.01 to 1 μm. Such yarns or fibers areproducible for example in line with the processes described in DE-B 2743 768, DE-A 38 10 597 or EP-A 528 192.

Further examples of finishes suitable for use in conjunction with thepresent invention are water-repellent hydrophobic layers applied on oneor both sides of the fabric. Such layers consist preferably ofpolyurethane-including materials and/orpolytetrafluoroethylene-including materials. Such coatings are alreadyknown for improving the weather protection of textiles (see Ullmann'sEnzyklopädie der Technischen Chemie, 5th edition, Vol. A26, p. 306-312,and Lexikon fur Textilveredelung, 1955, p. 211 et seq.). These coatingscan be formed in such a way that water vapor can diffuse through thelayer, but liquid water or similar fire extinguishant products andcombustion products can not pass through to any significant extent, ifat all. These coatings are generally adhered or calendered onto thefabric as polymer films.

Further measures for improving the protection afforded by fire-safetyblankets are finishing the fibers or the fabric with water-, oil- and/orsoil-repellent compounds (hydrophobic or oleophobic finishing). Suchcompounds are known for use as textile assistants (cf. Ullmann'sEncyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 5th Ed., Vol. A26, p. 306-312).Examples of water-repellent compounds are metal soaps, silicones,organofluorine compounds, for example salts of perfluorinated carboxylicacids, polyacrylates of perfluorinated alcohols (see EP-B-366 338 andreferences cited therein) or tetrafluoroethylene polymers. The last twopolymers especially are also used as oleophobic, oil-repellent finishes.

The melamine resin fibers used in conjunction with this invention can beproduced for example by the methods described in EP-A-93 965, DE-A-23 64091, EP-A-221 330 or EP-A-408 947. Particularly preferred melamine resinfibers include as monomer building block (A) from 90 to 100 mol % of amixture consisting essentially of from 30 to 100, preferably from 50 to99, particularly preferably from 85 to 95, particularly from 88 to 93mol % of melamine and from 0 to 70, preferably from 1 to 50,particularly preferably from 5 to 15, particularly from 7 to 12 mol % ofa substituted melamine I or mixtures of substituted melamines I.

As further monomer building block (B), the particularly preferredmelamine resin fibers include from 0 to 10, preferably from 0.1 to 9.5,particularly from 1 to 5 mol %, based on the total number of moles ofmonomer building blocks (A) and (B), of a phenol or a mixture ofphenols.

The particularly preferred melamine resin fibers are customarilyobtainable by reacting components (A) and (B) with formaldehyde orformaldehyde-supplying compounds in a molar ratio of melamines toformaldehyde within the range from 1:1.15 to 1:4.5, preferably from1:1.8 to 1:3.0, and subsequent spinning.

Suitable substituted melamines of the general formula I

are those in which X¹, X² and X³ are each selected from the groupconsisting of —NH₂, —NHR¹ and —NR¹R², although X¹, X² and X³ must notall be —NH₂, and R¹ and R² are each selected from the group consistingof hydroxy-C₂-C₁₀-alkyl, hydroxy-C₂-C₄-alkyl-(oxa-C₂-C₄-alkyl)_(n),where n is from 1 to 5, and amino-C₂-C₁₂-alkyl.

Hydroxy-C₂-C₁₀-alkyl is preferably hydroxy-C₂-C₆-alkyl such as2-hydroxyethyl, 3-hydroxy-n-propyl, 2-hydroxyisopropyl,4-hydroxy-n-butyl, 5-hydroxy-n-pentyl, 6-hydroxy-n-hexyl,3-hydroxy-2,2-dimethylpropyl, preferably hydroxy-C₂-C₄-alkyl such as2-hydroxyethyl, 3-hydroxy-n-propyl, 2-hydroxyisopropyl and4-hydroxy-n-butyl, particularly preferably 2-hydroxyethyl or2-hydroxyisopropyl.

Hydroxy-C₂-C₄-alkyl-(oxa-C₂-C₄-alkyl)_(n) preferably has n from 1 to 4,particularly preferably n=1 or 2, such as 5-hydroxy-3-oxapentyl,5-hydroxy-3-oxa-2,5-dimethylpentyl, 5-hydroxy-3-oxa-1,4-dimethylpentyl,5-hydroxy-3-oxa-1,2, 4,5-tetramethylpentyl, 8-hydroxy-3,6-dioxaoctyl.

Amino-C₂-C₁₂-alkyl is preferably amino-C₂-C₈-alkyl such as 2-aminoethyl,3-aminopropyl, 4-aminobutyl, 5-aminopentyl, 6-aminohexyl, 7-aminoheptyland also 8-aminooctyl, particularly preferably 2-aminoethyl and6-aminohexyl, very particularly preferably 6-aminohexyl.

Substituted melamines particularly suitable for the invention includethe following compounds: 2-hydroxyethylamino-substituted melamines suchas 2-(2-hydroxyethylamino)-4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine,2,4-di-(2-hydroxyethylamino)-6-amino-1,3,5-triazine,2,4,6-tris(2-hydroxyethylamino)-1,3,5-triazine,2-hydroxyisopropylamino-substituted melamines such as2-(2-hydroxyisopropylamino)-4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine,2,4-di-(2-hydroxyisopropylamino)-6-amino-1,3,5-triazine,2,4,6-tris(2-hydroxyisopropylamino)-1,3,5-triazine,5-hydroxy-3-oxapentylamino-substituted melamines such as2-(5-hydroxy-3-oxapentylamino)-4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine,2,4,6-tris-(5-hydroxy-3-oxapentylamino)-1,3,5-triazine,2,4-di(5-hydroxy-3-oxapentylamino)-6-amino;1,3,5-triazine and also6-aminohexylamino-substituted melamines such as2-(6-aminohexylamino)-4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine,2,4-di(6-amino-hexylamino)-6-amino-1,3,5-triazine,2,4,6-tris(6-aminohexylamino)-1,3,5-triazine or mixtures of thesecompounds, for example a mixture of 10 mol % of2-(5-hydroxy-3-oxapentylamino)-4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine, 50 mol % of2,4-di(5-hydroxy-3-oxapentylamino)-6-amino-1, 3,5-triazine and 40 mol %of 2,4,6-tris(5-hydroxy-3-oxapentylamino)-1,3,5-triazine.

Suitable phenols (B) are phenols containing one or two hydroxyl groups,such as unsubstituted phenols, phenols substituted by radicals selectedfrom the group consisting of C₁-C₉-alkyl and hydroxyl, and alsoC₁-C₄-alkanes substituted by two or three phenol groups,di(hydroxyphenyl) sulfones or mixtures thereof.

Preferred phenols include phenol, 4-methylphenol,

4-tert-butylphenol, 4-n-octylphenol, 4-n-nonylphenol,

pyrocatechol, resorcinol, hydroquinone,

2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, Bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) sulfone,

particularly preferably phenol, resorcinol and2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane.

Formaldehyde is generally used in the form of an aqueous solution havinga concentration of, for example, from 40 to 50% by weight or in the formof compounds which supply formaldehyde in the course of the reactionwith (A) and (B), for example in the form of oligomeric or polymericformaldehyde in solid form, such as paraformaldehyde, 1,3,5-trioxane or1,3,5,7-tetroxane.

The particularly preferred melamine resin fibers are produced bypolycondensing customarily melamine, optionally substituted melamine andoptionally phenol together with formaldehyde or formaldehyde-supplyingcompounds. All the components can be present from the start or they canbe reacted a little at a time and gradually while the resultingprecondensates are subsequently admixed with further melamine,substituted melamine or phenol.

The polycondensation is generally carried out in a conventional manner(see EP-A-355 760, Houben-Weyl, Vol. 14/2, p. 357 ff).

The reaction temperatures used will generally be within the range from20 to 150° C., preferably from 40 to 140° C.

The reaction pressure is generally uncritical. The reaction is generallycarried out within the range from 100 to 500 kPa, preferably atatmospheric pressure.

The reaction can be carried out with or without a solvent. If aqueousformaldehyde solution is used, typically no solvent is added. Ifformaldehyde bound in solid form is used, water is customarily used assolvent, the amount used being generally within the range from 5 to 40,preferably from 15 to 20%, by weight, based on the total amount ofmonomer used.

Furthermore, the polycondensation is generally carried out within a pHrange above 7. Preference is given to the pH range from 7.5 to 10.0,particularly preferably from 8 to 9.

In addition, the reaction mixture may include small amounts of customaryadditives such as alkali metal sulfites, for example sodiummetabisulfite and sodium sulfite, alkali metal formates, for examplesodium formate, alkali metal citrates, for example sodium citrate,phosphates, polyphosphates, urea, dicyandiamide or cyanamide. They canbe added as pure individual compounds or as mixtures with each other,either without a solvent or as aqueous solutions, before, during orafter the condensation reaction.

Other modifiers are amines and aminoalcohols such as diethylamine,ethanolamine, diethanolamine or 2-diethylaminoethanol.

Examples of suitable fillers include fibrous or pulverulent inorganicreinforcing agents or fillers such as glass fibers, metal powders, metalsalts or silicates, for example kaolin, talc, baryte, quartz or chalk,also pigments and dyes. Emulsifiers used are generally the customarynonionic, anionic or cationic organic compounds with long-chain alkylradicals.

The polycondensation can be carried out batchwise or continuously, forexample in an extruder (see EP-A-355 760), in a conventional manner.

Fibers are produced by generally spinning the melamine resin of thepresent invention in a conventional manner, for example followingaddition of a hardener, customarily acids such as formic acid, sulfuricacid or ammonium chloride, at room temperature in a rotospinningapparatus and subsequently completing the curing of the crude fibers ina heated atmosphere, or spinning in a heated atmosphere while at thesame time evaporating the water used as solvent and curing thecondensate. Such a process is described in detail in DE-A-23 64 091.

If desired, the fibers may have added to them up to 25, preferably up to10%, by weight of customary fillers, especially those based onsilicates, such as mica, dyes, pigments, metal powders and delusterantsand then be processed to the corresponding fire-safety blankets andnonwovens.

Fire-safety blankets are customarily manufactured by converting thefibers into yarns in a conventional manner, for example by woollenspinning (Ullmann's Enzyklopädie der Technischen Chemie, 4th edition,Vol. 23, “Textiltechnik”). The yarns preferably have a linear densitywithin the range from 100 to 200, particularly preferably from 140 to160, tex. The yarns are then generally woven up in a conventional mannerto wovens having a basis weight within the range from 70 to 900,preferably from 120 to 500, g/m².

The fire-safety blankets of this invention can also be produced fromfiber web nonwovens. Nonwovens are generally obtainable by processingthe fibers on webbers with crosslayers. They preferably have a basisweight within the range from 30 to 600, preferably from 50 to 450, g/m².

According to the invention, it is also possible to make fire-safetyblankets from fiber blends comprising essentially from 4.9 to 95% byweight, preferably from 25 to 90% by weight, particularly preferablyfrom 40 to 75% by weight of melamine resin fibers and from 0 to 90.1% byweight, preferably from 5 to 70% by weight, particularly preferably from15 to 50% by weight, of flame-proof fibers. In addition, as alreadymentioned, these fiber blends may include from 4.9 to 95% by weight,preferably from 5 to 50% by weight, in particular from 5 to 45% byweight, of normal-flammable fibers selected from the group consisting ofwool, cotton, polyamide fibers, polyester fibers and viscose.

The flame-proof fibers are preferably glass fibers, carbon fibers,flame-proof wool, flame-proof viscose and especially aramid fibers.Aramid fibers are preferably produced by spinning solutions ofpolycondensation products of iso- or terephthalic acid or derivativesthereof, such as acid chlorides, with para- or meta-phenylenediamine insolvents such as N-methylpyrrolidone, hexamethylphosphoric triamide,concentrated sulfuric acid or customary mixtures thereof. The resultingcontinuous filament fibers are then customarily cut into staple fiberswhose thickness is generally within the range from 5 to 25 μm. Preferredaramid fibers are those based on an isomericpoly-p-phenyleneterephthalamide.

The fiber blends are processed in a conventional manner, for example oncustomary fiber-blending apparatus as described in Vliesstoffe, GeorgThieme Verlag. In a preferred embodiment, it is customary to start fromstaple fibers having a customary length of from 1 to 20 cm. These aregenerally fed via a conveyor into a stationary-top card and preblendedtherein. The blending is then generally completed in a roller-top cardto obtain a waddinglike web. The resulting waddinglike web is thenfurther processed into yarns or nonwovens.

The wovens or nonwovens are then cut to the desired blanket dimensions,which from experience to date depend only on the intended use. Finally,the edges of the blankets are consolidated, generally by sewing.

Fire-safety blankets comprising a metal coating, whether directly on thefiber or on the finished fabric, are characterized by retarded heatpassage therethrough and thus by better heat protection for the objectsto be protected.

In a further embodiment, the fibers are admixed with salts, especiallysilicates, but particularly preferably magnesium aluminum silicates, orfoam-developing substances by impregnation, brush coating or similarmethods.

According to the invention, the fire-safety blankets are used forextinguishing fires, burning objects and persons.

The fabrics of this invention are further used for manufacturingfire-safety blankets for protecting persons and objects from fire,extinguishants and/or combustion products by covering the persons andobjects to be protected with the fire-safety blankets of the invention.In addition, the fire-safety blankets of the invention are suitable forprotecting works of art and/or antiques. They are also usable forprotecting houses and containers on trucks, trains or ships whichcontain flammable substances and also road tankers and gas holders,electrical or electronic equipment, such as computers, terminals,control panels.

The fabrics of this invention are also suitable for use asflame-retardant coverings for upholstered seats in automobiles,aircraft, railroad carriages, etc.

One advantage of the fire-safety blankets and nonwovens of thisinvention is that the fire-safety blankets and nonwovens producedaccording to the invention do not melt on heating or on direct contactwith a fire or flame and thus do not drip, and the blankets andnonwovens therefore also remain shape-stable under the action of heat. Afurther advantage of the fire-safety blankets of this invention is thatthey afford effective protection against water and other extinguishantsand against combustion products, such as soot.

EXAMPLES Example 1

A fabric composed of a yarn comprising 60% by weight of melamine resinfibers and 40% by weight of p-aramid fibers and having a basis weight of220 g/m² was treated with a commercial fluorocarboxylic acid finish bysaturating the fabric with a liquor comprising 30 g/l of Persistol® O(commercial product from BASF) and also 3 g/l of aluminum sulfate and 1g/l of 60% strength acetic acid. The liquor pickup is 70% by weight. Thefabric was then dried at 130° C. to a residual moisture content of from6 to 8% by weight and then heated at 150° C. for 4 min.

The fabric was tested for hydrophobicity by the AATCC 22 spray test andachieved a rating of 70. As regards oil resistance, an AATCC 118 testrating of 6 was achieved.

Testing of the flame-retarding properties:

The protection afforded by the fabric was tested on the lines of theAssessment of the Ignibility of Upholstered Seating by Smouldering andFlaming Ignition Sources, British Standards BS 582:1990, Section 3, Crib5 or Crib 7.

To this end, the fabric was stretched onto a block of commercialflexible polyurethane foam without flame retardants (about 95 parts byweight of polyol, 50 parts by weight of methylene diisocyanate, 5 partsby weight of water and catalyst) and exposed to a crib 5 ignitionsource. The foam did not ignite while the ignition source burned andwent out (about 8 to 10 min), nor were there any smouldering or gloweffects. The same test was repeated without the fabric of thisinvention. The polyurethane foam ignited spontaneously and wascompletely consumed by the flames.

In a further test, the ignition source was extinguished with water after30 sec. A subsequent examination of the polyurethane foam revealed notraces of water.

Example 2

The test fabric used was a fabric composed of a yarn comprising 60% byweight of melamine resin fibers and 40% by weight of p-aramid fibers. Inaddition, the fabric was coated on both sides with a polyester filmaluminized in a high vacuum. The fabric thus obtained had a basis weightof 725 g/m².

Test of the fire-retarding effect:

The fabric of this invention was stretched over a block of flexiblepolyurethane foam as described in Example 1 and then exposed to a crib 7ignition source. The foam did not ignite even after prolonged exposureto the source of ignition; nor did any smouldering or glow effectsoccur.

The test was repeated, except that after 60 sec the ignition source wasextinguished with foam from a commercial fire extinguisher. Thefire-extinguishing foam did not pass through the fabric; thepolyurethane foam was not found to contain any traces of the action offire nor of the subsequent extinguishing measure.

Example 3

A polyurethane foam block was covered with an m-aramid needlefelt havinga basis weight of 200 g/m² as described in Example 1 and then exposed toa crib 7 ignition source. After 30 sec the ignition source wasextinguished with water. The needlefelt was wet through, and the foamtoo showed traces of the water.

We claim:
 1. A flame-proof fabric comprising, based on the total weightof the fabric, a) from 4.9 to 95% by weight of melamine resin fibers, b)from 0 to 90.1% by weight of flame-proof fibers selected from the groupconsisting of aramid fibers, carbon fibers, glass fibers, flame-proofwool and flame-proof viscose, c) from 0 to 20% by weight of fillers,further comprising d) from, 4.9 to 95% by weight of normal-flammablefibers and e) from 0.1 to 20% by weight of at least one heat-, oil-soil- and/or moisture-resistant finish comprising metal coating appliedto one or both sides of the fabric, and comprising a water repellent asfinish.
 2. A fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein the normal-flammablefibers are selected from the group consisting of wool, cotton, polyamidefibers, polyester fibers and viscose.
 3. A fabric as claimed in claim 1,wherein the melamine resin fibers are obtainable by condensation of amixture including as essential components (A) from 90 to 100 mol % of amixture consisting essentially of (a) from 30 to 100 mol % of melamineand (b) from 0 to 70 mol % of a substituted melamine of the generalformula I

 where X¹, X² and X³ are each selected from the group consisting of—NH₂, NHR¹ and NR¹R², and X¹, X² and X³ must not all be —NH₂, and R¹ andR² are selected from the group consisting of hydroxy-C₂-C₂₀-alkyl,hydroxy-C₂-C₄-alkyl-(oxa-C₂-C₄-alkyl)_(n), where n is from 1 to 5, andamino-C₂-C₁₂-alkyl, or mixtures of melamine I, and (B) from 0 to 10 mol%, based on (A) and (B), of phenols which are unsubstituted orsubstituted by radicals selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₉-alkyl and hydroxyl, C₁-C₄-alkanes substituted by two or threephenol groups, di(hydroxyphenyl) sulfones, or mixtures of these phenols,with formaldehyde or formaldehyde-supplying compounds in a molar ratioof melamines to formaldehyde within the range from 1:1.15 to 1:4.5.
 4. Afabric as claimed in claim 1, comprising as constituent b) aramid fibersobtainable by polycondensation of iso- or terephthalic acid with a meta-or para-phenylenediamine.
 5. Fire-safety blanket or clothingmanufactured using a fabric as claimed in claim
 1. 6. A method forextinguishing fires and burning objects which comprises covering thefire or burning object with a fire-safety blanket as claimed in claim 5.7. A method of protecting an object from fire, heat, combustion productsand/or extinguishants, which comprises using a fire-safety blanket asclaimed in claim 5 to cover the object to be protected.
 8. A fabric asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the metallic coating comprises aluminum asmain constituent.
 9. A flame-proof fabric comprising, based on the totalweight of the fabric, a) from 4.9 to 95% by weight of melamine resinfibers, b) from 0 to 90.1% by weight of flame-proof fibers selected fromthe group consisting of aramid fibers, carbon fibers, glass fibers,flame-proof wool and flame-proof viscose, and c) from 0 to 20% by weightof fillers, further comprising d) optionally from, 4.9 to 95% by weightof normal-flammable fibers and e) from 0.1 to 20% by weight of at leastone heat-, oil- soil- and/or moisture-resistant finish comprising metalcoating applied to one or both sides of the fabric, and comprising awater repellent as finish.
 10. A flame-proof fabric comprising, based onthe total weight of the fabric, a) from 4.9 to 95% by weight of melamineresin fibers, b) from 0 to 90.1% by weight of flame-proof fibersselected from the group consisting of aramid fibers, carbon fibers,glass fibers, flame-proof wool and flame-proof viscose, and c) from 0 to20% by weight of fillers, further comprising d) optionally from 4.9 to95% by weight of normal-flammable fibers and e) from 0.1 to 20% byweight of at least one heat-, oil-, soil- and/or moisture-resistantfinish comprising metal coating applied to one or both sides of thefabric, and comprising an oil repellent as finish.